Pump used to help clean manure spill

LYONS, Ohio - The Fulton County Emergency Management Agency is continuing cleanup of a manure spill in Little Bear Creek a few miles south of here.

Brett Kolb, the director of the Fulton County Emergency Management Agency, said crews are using a big pump hooked to the back of a tractor to remove the manure near the intersection of County Roads 10 and S. A dike also was built just west of Road 10 to keep it from spreading farther.

Mr. Kolb said the liquid manure came from a lagoon on the property of Chesterfield Dairy LLC. Karel Van de Kolk, the dairy's owner, did not return calls for comment.

Mr. Kolb said officials believe the spill, which was discovered Thursday evening by a resident of the area, occurred Wednesday. Its circumstances are still unknown.

"We're just kind of in a monitoring stage right now," Mr. Kolb said.

The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency and the Ohio Department of Natural Resources are investigating the incident.

Both are expected to have initial reports in on Monday.

The manure extended for four miles of the creek, which usually has water about shin-deep.

Mr. Kolb said it was potentially hazardous to the natural environment and that fish in the creek had been killed, but that there was no drinking water near the area.